Adam and Eve noticed that there were differences between them. The idea grew exponentially involving many different factors. We can talk solving differences to death- and probably will. To me, it very simple. We, on this Earth, don't believe we are equal. It's not just about skin color. There are religious, political, environmental, and every kind of difference one can think of. It's why communism as a political and economic system has never worked anywhere. We just don't believe we are the same. We live in a country that encourages differences. Maybe not the type of differences under discussion that reduce the rights of some people. But we allow people to achieve better results than others if that is what they want to do. Trying to achieve equality in a society that celebrates diversity and differences is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer and hoping it won't hurt.
Hmmm....I didn't realize Sean Wilentz was the final say on what it means to be progressive. I'm also not sure why those who feel strongly on progressive issues have to pull their punches to avoid a Rufo gotcha. He's a mope. Oh, and Bill Maher is an arrogant misogynistic jerk.
Thank you, Mr. Zackrison for making a clear argument about Columbus Drive. Even setting aside the issue of Columbus' bad behavior, it doesn't make sense for Italian Americans to be so strident about Columbus. In addition, why not honor those who really were Italian? Enrico Fermi with his Chicago connection, Marconi, or even Pavarotti!
Will we care where the VBM ballot was postmarked? Does it matter whether it is local? My understanding of the extended time for "absentee" ballots to arrive to be counted, once correctly postmarked by the actual election day, was a nod to voters in the military, potentially stationed some distance away. I think 2 weeks is an appropriate amount of time to let folks who actually vote on/by Election Day to be heard from -- and the rest of us can just learn to practice patience, in those rare times when races are actually too close to call early on. Conspiracy theorists will always have a complaint; the rest of us can take a deep breath and be adults. BTW -- I'm still waiting to hear who won in the MWRD race...
I find it ironic that there’s concern about voter fraud when the real issue is the low percentage of eligible voters who vote. Wasn’t the voter turnout in the most recent election in Chicago about 20%?
And thanks for sharing your niece’s whistling video. She’s amazing and I’m so envious of anyone who can whistle. Just never was able to get the hang of it.
Great discourse between Jake and Joanie, insightful and illuminating. I thought an especially crucial point was the one Jake made about how the excesses of progressivism are helping to get bad people elected into power, a point that I have cautioned repeatedly, but doesn’t seem to penetrate ears that are as deaf as they are woke. Very disheartening.
Just last night I was channel surfing and around midnight stumbled upon an episode of South Park on Comedy Central. I had largely abandoned this once great show since it began running out of gas around 2007, but the episode that I saw last night, “Holiday Special” was from 2017, and was a masterpiece of social satire that hearkened back to the show’s glory years. The thrust of the episode is that Columbus Day has recently been cancelled as a school holiday due to it’s political incorrectness (prompting outrage from the students over their getting screwed out of a day off). Controversy and disgrace ensue when old photos emerge of one of the parents dressing up as Columbus in his youth, but salivation becomes attainable when he learns of a genealogy company that offers DNA testing that can help caucasians discover trace amounts of DNA of oppressed minorities in their blood lines, and thus enable them to claim permanent victim status. I will say no more so as not to spoil, but from there the rest of the episode unfolds. Enjoy.
After the South Park episode, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart came on, and in his opening segment he treated us to a montage of clips of talking heads from liberal news networks from the previous day. They were in full meltdown mode as they warned their viewers of a “shocking” and “disgusting”news story that was “very disturbing”, so disturbing that some of them had opted not to show it after conferring with their news directors, while the one that did show it gave a particularly dramatic trigger warning to viewers who might be apt to faint from what they were about to see. The too shocking for most viewers to see image was a shot of some yahoo’s pickup truck replete with Trump flags, and a lithographic depiction of a hog tied Joe Biden on the tailgate. This is what was to cause the scales to fall from our eyes.
I bring up this up as a way of demonstrating how some of the behavior and hysterical mindsets of progressives are pushing often reasonable people to vote for Trump and his ilk, whether they realize it or. Jon Stewart quite rightly called out the liberal newsroom snowflakes for their deliquescence (how could he not?), and left plain the implication that however ludicrous, absurd, or inane that truck driver might have been, the newsroom talking heads managed to outdo him by a country mile. Can we get some adults in the room please? The South Park episode was possibly the most eloquent lancing of the pretenses of wokeness that I have ever seen. I urge everyone with a sense of humor (a group that, alas, is far less considerable than it used to be) to watch and enjoy.
Let’s strive to be the sensible liberals that most PS readers are. Progressivism and wokeness are religions, and like many religions, they breed fanatics and push those that are not all in away.
I haven't read the Coleman Hughes book yet, but get the sense that even some his peers that usually agree with him are so-so on it. For those who missed the whole colorblindness hullabaloo over TED Talks and Hughes, an analysis from Jesse Singal here: https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/is-there-an-extensive-body-of-rigorous . Glenn Loury points out that growing up in an all black neighborhood could impact your opinion on "moving on from race" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RjlVmAeyws&t=231s
And finally, woke, CRT, etc. has had plenty of valid points to make, but continues to blow it with overreach. Lumping very different police cases together (while ignoring others based on race), limited analysis on wealth gaps, simplistic historical narratives, etc. As summarized well in this piece by Heterodox Academy, "How can one fail to find evidence of the ubiquity of racism if one's research is grounded in its assumed ubiquity"? https://heterodoxacademy.org/blog/the-decline-in-race-relations-the-perils-of-groupthink-and-motivated-reasoning/
I agree with you. I never suggested not to try. My comment was that I didn't expect to see much in my lifetime. I'm sure I'm not the only one here that lived through the 60s. Jim Crow still took place in the South. Women were still expected to stay home and take care of the house and kids. There was no logical reason for things to be that way. It was merely traditional. If women did work, it was nurses and teachers. One needs to know at least the basics of history for it to make any sense. Yes, we keep trying. In my lifetime, blacks have made gains. It's actually okay for Women to work outside the home. People with alternative lifestyles are freer to make it known and it is not seen so often as mental illness. But I don't have a problem with pointing out reality. I live in a semi rural area. There are many that feel blacks are no better than a drain on society. I personally know people that wish that women would return to the kitchen. Gay people in my area still don't make it widely known
And many want a return to the "good old days" like when Ike was President. I don't say I approve. I say it is what it is.
Eric, I agree with your views on voter fraud. To me, I could never figure out a motive.
For example, you run a computer company that handles votes/ elections. Your business requires you to be accurate, honest and hopefully efficient. Commit voter fraud and you are likely to lose your entire business. So if I wanted to commit fraud, I would need a big payout or some sort of deal from the candidate that would receive the added votes. But there is never any evidence even alleged in most cases.
Donald Trump and the wacko Republicans alleged all kinds of voter fraud and how the computer companies pulled it off. But they never said WHY these companies committed fraud. I guess they left it at hatred of Donald Trump as a motive which is just weird.
Now we come to individuals, why would the vote counters commit fraud when they know it is illegal, they know they are being monitored and they are honest folks to begin with. Again, I would expect big payoffs or some candidate promise that would show up in an investigation. And no evidence like that ever does show up.
Yes, there are usually a few idiot folks that may vote multiple times usually by mistake or based on some weird personal motive. They are few and do not change the election outcome in any significant way.
I cannot see a reason why entities or large groups of people would commit voter fraud on a whim They need a reason, and so far, I have never seen evidence of one.
Great to see the postings from the Rhubarb Patch archives in last Thursday’s edition. It’s so refreshing to see the quasi-Socratic method in full bloom, with two divergent viewpoints being dissected and argued with great thoroughness and passion by both parties, persuasively and with respect. Summarizes the concept of shedding light rather than generating heat. Unfortunately, this quality of discourse appears to be growing increasingly extinct, as the new rules of hyper-partisanship require the silencing, shutting down and “de-platforming” of any opinion that is not in complete concert with the one being voiced.
Perhaps the Rhubarb Patch could be reintroduced as an occasional feature in Picayune Sentinel, or does the Tribune have intellectual property claim on that name?
No surprise that the visual tweet of George Bush receiving the first September 11th news came in last. Jokes about it weren't funny then and aren't funny two decades later.
Mail-in voting is a problem in Chicago because the postal service has problems. In two of the last three elections either my husband or I did not receive our mail in ballot even though it was sent. When I called the clerks office they said "Oh yeah, that happens all the time. They just don't bother delivering them." If they can't properly deliver the ballots to the voters you can bet many ballots are never delivered back to the clerk's office. Maybe more drop boxes are the answer. We now choose just to vote early so we can be sure our vote is counted.
Ooh...burnage! I'm totally devastated by your wit. I have not respected Maher since I watched the episode of Politically Incorrect where he and Tony Curtis and some other dudes spent the whole show talking about how older women were a drag and men should be having relationships and sex with very young women. So misogynist and ageist
Adam and Eve noticed that there were differences between them. The idea grew exponentially involving many different factors. We can talk solving differences to death- and probably will. To me, it very simple. We, on this Earth, don't believe we are equal. It's not just about skin color. There are religious, political, environmental, and every kind of difference one can think of. It's why communism as a political and economic system has never worked anywhere. We just don't believe we are the same. We live in a country that encourages differences. Maybe not the type of differences under discussion that reduce the rights of some people. But we allow people to achieve better results than others if that is what they want to do. Trying to achieve equality in a society that celebrates diversity and differences is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer and hoping it won't hurt.
Jake H, you lost me about at #3 paragraph 2 in your manifesto. Thx the gods for whistling and Tweets this week
Hmmm....I didn't realize Sean Wilentz was the final say on what it means to be progressive. I'm also not sure why those who feel strongly on progressive issues have to pull their punches to avoid a Rufo gotcha. He's a mope. Oh, and Bill Maher is an arrogant misogynistic jerk.
With respect to naming I-57 after President Obama, note that a good chunk of I-55 is already the Obama Expressway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_55_in_Illinois
Just something to throw into the mix as the wheel of history continues to turn.
Thank you, Mr. Zackrison for making a clear argument about Columbus Drive. Even setting aside the issue of Columbus' bad behavior, it doesn't make sense for Italian Americans to be so strident about Columbus. In addition, why not honor those who really were Italian? Enrico Fermi with his Chicago connection, Marconi, or even Pavarotti!
Will we care where the VBM ballot was postmarked? Does it matter whether it is local? My understanding of the extended time for "absentee" ballots to arrive to be counted, once correctly postmarked by the actual election day, was a nod to voters in the military, potentially stationed some distance away. I think 2 weeks is an appropriate amount of time to let folks who actually vote on/by Election Day to be heard from -- and the rest of us can just learn to practice patience, in those rare times when races are actually too close to call early on. Conspiracy theorists will always have a complaint; the rest of us can take a deep breath and be adults. BTW -- I'm still waiting to hear who won in the MWRD race...
I find it ironic that there’s concern about voter fraud when the real issue is the low percentage of eligible voters who vote. Wasn’t the voter turnout in the most recent election in Chicago about 20%?
And thanks for sharing your niece’s whistling video. She’s amazing and I’m so envious of anyone who can whistle. Just never was able to get the hang of it.
Great discourse between Jake and Joanie, insightful and illuminating. I thought an especially crucial point was the one Jake made about how the excesses of progressivism are helping to get bad people elected into power, a point that I have cautioned repeatedly, but doesn’t seem to penetrate ears that are as deaf as they are woke. Very disheartening.
Just last night I was channel surfing and around midnight stumbled upon an episode of South Park on Comedy Central. I had largely abandoned this once great show since it began running out of gas around 2007, but the episode that I saw last night, “Holiday Special” was from 2017, and was a masterpiece of social satire that hearkened back to the show’s glory years. The thrust of the episode is that Columbus Day has recently been cancelled as a school holiday due to it’s political incorrectness (prompting outrage from the students over their getting screwed out of a day off). Controversy and disgrace ensue when old photos emerge of one of the parents dressing up as Columbus in his youth, but salivation becomes attainable when he learns of a genealogy company that offers DNA testing that can help caucasians discover trace amounts of DNA of oppressed minorities in their blood lines, and thus enable them to claim permanent victim status. I will say no more so as not to spoil, but from there the rest of the episode unfolds. Enjoy.
After the South Park episode, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart came on, and in his opening segment he treated us to a montage of clips of talking heads from liberal news networks from the previous day. They were in full meltdown mode as they warned their viewers of a “shocking” and “disgusting”news story that was “very disturbing”, so disturbing that some of them had opted not to show it after conferring with their news directors, while the one that did show it gave a particularly dramatic trigger warning to viewers who might be apt to faint from what they were about to see. The too shocking for most viewers to see image was a shot of some yahoo’s pickup truck replete with Trump flags, and a lithographic depiction of a hog tied Joe Biden on the tailgate. This is what was to cause the scales to fall from our eyes.
I bring up this up as a way of demonstrating how some of the behavior and hysterical mindsets of progressives are pushing often reasonable people to vote for Trump and his ilk, whether they realize it or. Jon Stewart quite rightly called out the liberal newsroom snowflakes for their deliquescence (how could he not?), and left plain the implication that however ludicrous, absurd, or inane that truck driver might have been, the newsroom talking heads managed to outdo him by a country mile. Can we get some adults in the room please? The South Park episode was possibly the most eloquent lancing of the pretenses of wokeness that I have ever seen. I urge everyone with a sense of humor (a group that, alas, is far less considerable than it used to be) to watch and enjoy.
Let’s strive to be the sensible liberals that most PS readers are. Progressivism and wokeness are religions, and like many religions, they breed fanatics and push those that are not all in away.
Very good conversation and some eloquent writing, JakeH and Joanie. I meant to look back at that convo, so thanks for posting again EZ. A few points:
Bill Maher is a comedian with a monologue, so of course there are generalities, but multitudes of blacks would generally agree with him. Clarence Page expressed some support in the Trib on Sunday. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/03/31/clarence-page-census-bill-maher-race-class/. Shutting down those who disagree, or at least ask questions, is a classic example of how not to build a coalition, as political scientist Adolph Reed continues to point out https://daily.jstor.org/adolph-reed-jr-the-perils-of-race-reductionism/
I haven't read the Coleman Hughes book yet, but get the sense that even some his peers that usually agree with him are so-so on it. For those who missed the whole colorblindness hullabaloo over TED Talks and Hughes, an analysis from Jesse Singal here: https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/is-there-an-extensive-body-of-rigorous . Glenn Loury points out that growing up in an all black neighborhood could impact your opinion on "moving on from race" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RjlVmAeyws&t=231s
And finally, woke, CRT, etc. has had plenty of valid points to make, but continues to blow it with overreach. Lumping very different police cases together (while ignoring others based on race), limited analysis on wealth gaps, simplistic historical narratives, etc. As summarized well in this piece by Heterodox Academy, "How can one fail to find evidence of the ubiquity of racism if one's research is grounded in its assumed ubiquity"? https://heterodoxacademy.org/blog/the-decline-in-race-relations-the-perils-of-groupthink-and-motivated-reasoning/
I agree with you. I never suggested not to try. My comment was that I didn't expect to see much in my lifetime. I'm sure I'm not the only one here that lived through the 60s. Jim Crow still took place in the South. Women were still expected to stay home and take care of the house and kids. There was no logical reason for things to be that way. It was merely traditional. If women did work, it was nurses and teachers. One needs to know at least the basics of history for it to make any sense. Yes, we keep trying. In my lifetime, blacks have made gains. It's actually okay for Women to work outside the home. People with alternative lifestyles are freer to make it known and it is not seen so often as mental illness. But I don't have a problem with pointing out reality. I live in a semi rural area. There are many that feel blacks are no better than a drain on society. I personally know people that wish that women would return to the kitchen. Gay people in my area still don't make it widely known
And many want a return to the "good old days" like when Ike was President. I don't say I approve. I say it is what it is.
Eric, I agree with your views on voter fraud. To me, I could never figure out a motive.
For example, you run a computer company that handles votes/ elections. Your business requires you to be accurate, honest and hopefully efficient. Commit voter fraud and you are likely to lose your entire business. So if I wanted to commit fraud, I would need a big payout or some sort of deal from the candidate that would receive the added votes. But there is never any evidence even alleged in most cases.
Donald Trump and the wacko Republicans alleged all kinds of voter fraud and how the computer companies pulled it off. But they never said WHY these companies committed fraud. I guess they left it at hatred of Donald Trump as a motive which is just weird.
Now we come to individuals, why would the vote counters commit fraud when they know it is illegal, they know they are being monitored and they are honest folks to begin with. Again, I would expect big payoffs or some candidate promise that would show up in an investigation. And no evidence like that ever does show up.
Yes, there are usually a few idiot folks that may vote multiple times usually by mistake or based on some weird personal motive. They are few and do not change the election outcome in any significant way.
I cannot see a reason why entities or large groups of people would commit voter fraud on a whim They need a reason, and so far, I have never seen evidence of one.
Great to see the postings from the Rhubarb Patch archives in last Thursday’s edition. It’s so refreshing to see the quasi-Socratic method in full bloom, with two divergent viewpoints being dissected and argued with great thoroughness and passion by both parties, persuasively and with respect. Summarizes the concept of shedding light rather than generating heat. Unfortunately, this quality of discourse appears to be growing increasingly extinct, as the new rules of hyper-partisanship require the silencing, shutting down and “de-platforming” of any opinion that is not in complete concert with the one being voiced.
Perhaps the Rhubarb Patch could be reintroduced as an occasional feature in Picayune Sentinel, or does the Tribune have intellectual property claim on that name?
No surprise that the visual tweet of George Bush receiving the first September 11th news came in last. Jokes about it weren't funny then and aren't funny two decades later.
Mail-in voting is a problem in Chicago because the postal service has problems. In two of the last three elections either my husband or I did not receive our mail in ballot even though it was sent. When I called the clerks office they said "Oh yeah, that happens all the time. They just don't bother delivering them." If they can't properly deliver the ballots to the voters you can bet many ballots are never delivered back to the clerk's office. Maybe more drop boxes are the answer. We now choose just to vote early so we can be sure our vote is counted.
I didn't vote for the support dog tweet ... but I almost did simply b/c that dog looks just like MY dog!
Ooh...burnage! I'm totally devastated by your wit. I have not respected Maher since I watched the episode of Politically Incorrect where he and Tony Curtis and some other dudes spent the whole show talking about how older women were a drag and men should be having relationships and sex with very young women. So misogynist and ageist